Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-02
"BE COURTEOUS"
Rev. Drs Hlrdsall,s Sermon ON tn o
Above Com m and.

Above Command.
Rev. DIR. Birdsall. Of st. Pauls Epis
copal Church, took for his subject yes
terday the Ssh verse of the Sd chapte
of lst Peter: "Finally be ye all of on
mind, having compassion one of an
other; love as brethren; be pitiful; b
Courteous. lie drew attention rarticu
lorly to the words sbe courteous" am
said that the imTcrtsnee and siguiaoa.
tion Of these words we're hardly realized
by the community al large. While tn,
only occurrence of the wcrd "oourte
Gus" in the bible is in this verse, yet the
whole tenor Of the precepts and priuci-
pies ught In the New Testament is to-
word the meaning OF the word, and i'm
piled courtesy is enjoined by every verst
throughout the Bible. The meaning oi
the word is theme worthy Of the pull
pit and ITS meaning should impress ithel
upon every Christian. The word is ths
incarnation of something gracious, and
when it's meaning is carried out It finds
expression in little acts regarded by
many of small importance, but whick
indicate the character Of the people with
whom we come in contact. BY follow
ing this meaning we are made to put
ourselves in others places, so that we
treat them as we would have them treat
US. There is better side to every one,
even the toughest character. and by
practicing courtesy we easily find 1t, and
at the same time we inspire the person
with whom we come in contact with the
same feelings, and that man will rise
toward the ideal made possible to him
Thus, Christ inspired those with whom
He came in contact, with desire to rise
toward higher and better life. 1t is
only natural that the treatment we got
from others should be repetition Of that
we give to them. For instance, there
are two works on California, in one oi
which the writer complains of the impo;
liteness and rudeness Of the railroad EN-.
ployes. while the other writer, perhaps
riding in the same car, describes the con.
duct of the trainmen as polite and alten'
tive in the extreme. The difference be-
tween the two was caused most proba.
bly, by the treatment of the trainmen
by the writer's, and was but reflex
of their own actions. To neglect the
forms of politeness is to narrow the
sentiment of the heart, to weaken the
best part of ones nature. As applied
to the parish it means that it is necessa-
ry, whatever may be the rank Of the
members as regards wealth and social
distinction, to remember that all inside
Of the portals Of the church are equals
in Gods sight. We must sink class
pride and make others feel at home. We
must school our hearts In the gentleness
md kindness of Christ Jesus. What
ever may be Appropriate in the outside
world, aud whilst By reason of its extrs
costliness lie ultra fashionable, is out o
place in the house of God. Self.denial,
which is not obtrusive, is demanded from
those who most desire to remove al
walls Of separation and make enc com
pact body OF all in the church. Il
would be difficult to find any contention
and wraugling If the principles Of thu
New Testament were carried out. lie
no man seek his own, but others vel
fare" We should not regard great
schemes to the exclusion Of the littl'
duties which lie right in our paths ant
to reach that point which the Bible de
scribes should be our daily effort. Cour
tesy must come from constant habit o
home, between husband and wife ant
all members Of the family. If we prac
tice 1t there we shall surely carry it int,
our daily intercourse with men an,
gradually attain the elevation which
true Christian spirit demands and de
sires.